And the Met Office warned more blizzards are on the way with snow, sleet, hail and high winds expected over the coming days.

Up to 130 schools were closed yesterday and road conditions were hazardous, with disruption in locations including the main Derry to Belfast road.

One driver had a lucky escape when their car overturned at Killaloo around seven miles outside Derry.

Heavy drifts also made road conditions difficult in South Armagh, where up to eight inches of snow was recorded.

Bus routes in Belfast were disrupted and even the zoo was affected – it transformed into a winter wonderland for the animals but was closed to the public.

Transport NI and the PSNI warned drivers to take care.

A police spokeswoman said: “Do not assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.”

A major gritting operation swung into operation yesterday with 300 staff and 120 gritters working to keep the roads open.

Holy Trinity PS in Belfast was shut

Belfast International Airport was closed for around 30 minutes early yesterday while the runway was cleared of snow.

A spokesman added last night: “Our teams did a great job keeping the airport open.

“There was a brief closure for about 30 minutes while snow was swept off the runway . There was a delay in some outbound short-haul flights first thing this morning but no flights were cancelled.

“We still have a delay on flights to Manchester.”

Passengers had been stranded at Manchester Airport after snow forced it to close both its runways for several hours. It reopened at 2pm but passengers were told to expect further delays.

At Belfast City Airport three flights from Manchester were delayed arriving at the airport and one flight from Edinburgh was also late.

A spokesman said: “Our operations were not affected.”

The Upper Hightown Road was closed last night between Ligoniel in North Belfast and Mallusk, Co Antrim, due to hazardous driving conditions.

Met Office spokeswoman Laura Young said the deepest snow fell in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and northern England, with 8ins at Glenanne, Co Armagh, 9ins at Tulloch Bridge in Inverness-Shire, and 5ins at Spadeadam in Cumbria. More than 400 schools were forced to close across counties in the North of England.